News Story

Hitbox Team announce Spire, first-person shooter set in a tower

Independent developer Hitbox Team, creators of Dustforce, have announced their new project as Spire. It's an FPS where the player must ascend a tower of mysterious origin, with levels ever-changing.

If their 'tower generator' puts us through a "dangerous, frantic sequence" then the next will likely be more gentle in order to "better control the emotional arc" of the gameplay, says Hitbox.

This approach to the tower lets the game feel fresh when you next play it, but it's not purely random, instead it utilises an "intentional level flow" to help us stay comfortable.

"If the generator has created a dangerous, frantic sequence with lots of combat, it might think to then generate a scene with lower intensity to better control the emotional arc of the experience," blogged Hitbox Team.

"In this way, Spire will generate intentional level flow instead of randomized environments. The resolution of the generation is very high: there are no premade rooms or scripted events. Everything from the placement of the books on a shelf to the shape of the walls and floors will be generated with intention."

The tower can be a dangerous place indeed and we'll be left to manage our limited resources in order to overcome challenges. "Although Spire is a fantasy game, we don't want people to think of goblins and elves," says Hitbox.

"One thing we've talked about a lot as a team is the opportunity to come up with non-standard creatures and items. When players encounter a new enemy, it should feel like a frightening and unfamiliar thing. Likewise, by making the items strange and unexpected, the experience of finding a new treasure is heightened - it becomes one of mystery as well as reward."

The team is focusing heavily on making Spire appear visually stylish to make it exciting to watch. "We want to make Spire a game where it's fun to watch extremely skilled players as they sprint around dashing off walls while switching items and combining their effects in clever ways," they explained. You've gotta look pretty for YouTube.

More information about Spire can be found on the official website. Not heard of Dustforce? See the trailer below.